


Recovering

by Inkspill2



Series: BURSTT, the superhero series [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, OCs - Freeform, Sibling Love, Sneaking Out, Superheroes, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Whump, Wounds, but everyone calls him lemur boy, noah's superhero name is the lemur, platonic sibling relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:08:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28701204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkspill2/pseuds/Inkspill2
Summary: “Oh, me?” Noah said, a grin on his face that had become well practiced and charming. “I’m completely fine.”AKA: the one where Noah is a huge moron.(Noah and his siblings are characters that belong to me, while Peyton and Allistair belong to my friends.)
Relationships: Allistair Allehro/Peyton Anglin (background), Charlotte "Charlie" Davidson & Noah Davidson & Elijah "Eli" Davidson, Noah Davidson & Allistair Allehro, Noah Davidson & Charlotte "Charlie" Davidson, Noah Davidson & Elijah "Eli" Davidson, Noah Davidson & Peyton Anglin, Noah Davidson/Porter Bourg (implied)
Series: BURSTT, the superhero series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103876
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

“Oh, me?” Noah said, a grin on his face that had become well practiced and charming. “I’m completely fine.”

“No, you’re not,” Charlie said. After all these years, she didn’t fall for it. “You’re staying in that bed until you’re better. Period. The doctor told you to rest for at least a couple weeks, and that’s what you’re going to do.”

“But, Charlie-” Noah groaned, sheepishly playing with his sheets. He was sitting up in his bed, as that was basically all he could do for himself lately. Bandages clung to his wounded limbs, and moving around was a clumsy and painful task.

“ _ No _ ,” Charlie said, narrowing her eyes into a glare. “Eli?”   


“His wounds aren’t anywhere near healed, and he’s still running a fever,” Eli said, sitting on the side of Noah's bed and resting his hand on his brother's forehead. “Sorry, kiddo, you didn’t get any super-healing powers overnight.”

“Shocker,” Charlie snorted. “Alright, I’m going to get him some medicine, you make sure he’s drinking enough water.” she turned to leave.

“Gotcha,” Eli said as Charlie shut the door after her.

“Eli, I really am fine,” Noah said. “Just a couple injuries and a little fever, nothing I can’t handle-!” he was cut off as Eli shoved a water bottle into his little brother’s mouth and made him drink.

“Yeah, yeah, pal, it’s  _ just  _ a few open wounds and a fever over 100 degrees,” Eli said.

Noah made an irritated noise behind the water bottle but couldn’t do much to stop his older brother. Truth be told, he was extremely weak and trembling due to his fever, and his wounds still felt raw, but he couldn’t  _ admit  _ a thing like that. His siblings had only just found out he was a hero, and he was already sick of them fussing over him like he was three years old. He was determined to get out of this as soon as possible and show them how independent he was.

“Alright,” Eli said, setting the water bottle aside. “You hungry, kid?”

Noah’s embarrassment was just becoming more apparent as his situation remained unchanged. “I- um…” he cleared his throat. “N-nah, no worries.”

“You sure?” Eli said. “Because you’re gonna need to eat something eventually, and I don’t want you starving yourself because you think it’ll make you look cool.”

Noah’s face burned.   
  
“That’s what I thought,” Eli said. “It’s so obvious when you’re lying. I thought I taught you better than that.”

“I- really, it’s no big deal,” Noah said, nearly sputtering out his words. “I should really be-”

“Eating, then taking a nap?” Eli said. “Couldn’t agree more. What do you feel like eating?”

_ Fuck _ , since when was Eli was so goddamn good at this?

“I was actually going to say,” Noah cleared his throat. “Uh- well, I should really be keeping an eye out, on, uh, on the city, making sure that there’s nothing bad happening, you know? I can’t take a day off just for such a small issue.”

“Come on, baby brother,” Eli said, his voice softening a bit. Noah felt one of Eli’s hands brush over his forehead and stroke his hair. “Just let us take care of you, it'll be over before you know it."

“But it’s really not necessary,” Noah said, frowning. "And I could be doing so much." he toyed with the bandages wrapped around his forearm. The other forearm matched it, as they had both been wounded in the explosion, along with his left upper arm and various spots on his legs. He was lucky no bones were broken- although  _ lucky  _ wasn't a word he'd associate with any of this.

"Noah," Eli said, his voice almost stern. It was pretty rare to hear his brother say his actual name instead of one of his many nicknames. "You're a wreck, kid, really. I mean, you'd get your ass kicked in this state, admit it."

"I'm a hero," Noah said firmly. "I can take care of myself."

"Yes, you're a hero," Eli agreed. "But you're our baby brother. You need to rest and let us take care of you for a little while."

" _ I- _ " Noah's face flushed with indignation. "That's- I- I'm not…"

"Kiddo," Eli said. "What do you want to eat?"

Noah just glared stubbornly and folded his arms.

"Hm," Eli said. "Fine then, I'll make you something and you won't get to complain."

Noah moved to get up when Eli turned to leave the room, but his brother immediately faced him again and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going, kid?"

Noah huffed softly in frustration. "Thought we were going downstairs to get some food?"

"Stay in bed," Eli said. "I'll bring it to you. Oh, and lay down. Why were you sitting up in the first place? You're not going anywhere." Eli teased gently as he pushed Noah onto his back. "Just  _ rest _ . I won't leave you for too long."

Noah made no effort to hide his annoyance, but didn't sit up until his brother left the room. Once he did, he cast a glance to a familiar box in his closet, convinced his freedom lay within it. His "freedom", of course, was his Lemur costume, and he was certain once he was dressed in it and taking his rightful place as the savior of the city, he would feel like himself again.

His siblings would be livid once they saw he was gone and found out that the Lemur was hopping around the city like it was nothing again- but he was sure they'd be sheepish once they realized he was stronger than they'd anticipated, and could handle his wounds. He imagined, smugly, his siblings apologizing for treating him with so little respect. Surely, after being proven so wrong, after realizing that their younger brother really was an independent adult, they wouldn't pull this kind of shit again.

He fantasized to himself, and swung his legs over the side of his bed, gritting his teeth slightly.

_ So far, so good _ . He stepped off the bed. The wood frame creaked and he cringed. His legs trembled, and he glanced down at them, his breath catching.  _ How the hell am I going to jump in this state? _

He shook off the thought. His legs were stronger than  _ anyone's _ . He could leap with them tied together. He took a few cautious steps toward his closet, then nearly used his jumping prowess to leap out of his skin when he heard the door open.

"Noah?!" Charlie's voice snapped. Noah froze, unable to meet her eyes. Eli stood behind her, a bowl in his hands. "Bed,  _ now _ ." Charlie ordered.

"Charlie, I-"

" _ Now _ ."

Noah reluctantly sat back down on the bed.

"Lay down," Charlie said sternly. Noah frowned.

"Look, I-"

" _ Lay down _ ," Charlie snapped, startling Noah into obeying. "Stay put. Eli?"

“I made you some pasta,” Eli said, cautiously smiling. “Do you need more water?”

Noah just sighed and shook his head.

~

He spent the evening on his laptop, scrolling through news articles, opinion pieces, and blog posts about himself and the other heroes. Most of them focused on the “scandal” between Allistair and Peyton these days, but a few caught his interest.

_ Where is Lemur Boy?  _ One article read.  _ It’s been 3 days since Lemur Boy was injured during a fight with De-Intonation. Since then, he has not been seen. _

He skimmed it, uninterested in the theories, and found himself in the comments below the article.

_ I hope he’s okay, he was so still when he was knocked down I thought he was dead at first.  _ One commenter said. Another replied,  _ I don’t think he’s dead, perhaps resting. Heroes are stronger than normal people. _

_ Is he really even a hero? I always saw him as something of a sidekick. If he was a hero, maybe he would’ve healed faster so he could help during today’s fight. It’s probably embarrassing to be left home. _

Noah felt a pit form in his stomach.

_ Something of a sidekick. _


	2. Chapter 2

_ He was running. His legs felt lighter than air, and he leaped and felt the momentum of the wind against his hair. He landed next to Allistair and Peyton, trying to get in on their conversation. _

_ “Guys? Guys, I’m back. I’m better now,” he said. _

_ They kept talking. They weren’t even looking at him. He couldn’t hear them, and although he was right beside them, their conversation felt miles away. _

_ “Guys?” he said, raising his voice to a shout. “Guys, please, I’m back.” _

_ Panic rose in his chest as Peyton and Allistair began to walk away, still talking idly, never once looking at them. He ran after them, but his legs felt wobbly and unstable, and he collapsed on the ground. _

_ “Come back, please,” Noah begged softly. Allistair finally turned his head, only for Noah to realize he was no longer Allistair. The familiar face of Noah’s father was looming over him. _

_ “You’re not a hero,” his father said. “You’re just a stupid kid.” _

Noah sat up in bed, glancing around his room. His heart was racing. He felt almost delirious when he stumbled out of bed, almost as though he was still dreaming, but his mind was more made up than ever.

_ I have no other choice.  _ He thought.  _ Time to prove what I’m capable of. _

He shakily walked toward his closet, grabbing the box and slowly lowering himself to the floor. He lifted the lid off the box, grabbing the loose, stretchy fabric and pulling off his clothes.

Once he was in his costume, he put the goggles over his eyes and stumbled toward the window. His legs felt like they were made of jelly, but he was still the Lemur. He could manage this.

He opened the window and swung one leg out of it, wincing at the pain, before pulling the other one after it. He lowered himself onto the ground, biting back a whimper as his knees nearly buckled. His arms and legs were screaming at him to reconsider his decision, but he wouldn’t hear it. He snuck past his apartment building, trembling and slouching a bit as he went, knowing full well he couldn’t do much jumping with the way his legs were feeling.

A few blocks past his home, and he was actually managing. Even in all his overconfidence, Noah was impressed with himself. He kept his senses alert for signs of danger, and had to grab fences to keep from falling over frequently, but still, this was definitely impressive for someone as badly injured as he was.

“Please don’t hurt me!"

Noah perked his head up, and staggered down the alley, embarrassed by his lack of grace. Usually his entrances had more style.

Two men, both twice Noah’s size, held guns pointed at a young man who was now fervently digging through his backpack.

Noah gritted his teeth and ran, kicking the gun out of one of the man’s hands and grabbing the other man’s hand, twisting it to disarm him. The gun fell from it’s place, and Noah kicked the second man again as he saw him reaching for his weapon out of the corner of his eyes. He felt like he was going to pass out from that exertion, and his leg wounds were almost certainly 10 times worse thanks to him moving them around so much.

“Oh my God, it’s Lemur Boy!” came a shout, and Noah winced as a group of people approached, keeping a safe distance but pulling out their phones. They’d clearly been drinking, which made sense considering it was 1AM in the middle of the city.

“Watch it, kid,” one of the men growled, slamming Noah against a brick wall and grabbing his gun off the ground. Noah cried out in pain, caught off guard, and stumbled to grab the second gun before the other man could. He grabbed it and scrambled to dodge right as the first man fired his weapon. Heart racing, he leaped toward the man and hit him once with the barrel of the gun, with no intention of actually using it. The man fired the gun again as he stumbled backward, and this time Noah’s arm was grazed, causing him to cry out again.

His teeth clenched, facing the second man, he waited.

~   
  
Allistair woke up to his phone buzzing beside him. At first he was confused- his alarm wasn’t supposed to go off yet- but after grabbing it he realized he was getting a phone call from Ria.

“Hello?” he said, his voice a bit hoarse.

“Allistair, your friend is on the news, the little one that got wounded really bad a couple days ago? He’s taking on two muggers by himself, he’s doing okay but he seems really unstable, you have to go find him before he passes out and gets himself killed.”

Allistair sat up immediately, feeling numb. “Call Peyton. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Do you know where he is?”

“No, it’s some alleyway, but it sort of looks like the one next to the drug store downtown?”

“Got it,” Allistair said, already suiting up. “Thanks, Ria.”

~

It felt like he’d spent hours holding them off. He disarmed them again, this time grabbing both of the guns, though being unable to use them himself, he knew it wasn’t much of a threat. One of the men managed to punch Noah so hard he slammed him against the wall again, but he kept his grip on the weapons. Blood trickled down his nose, and he tasted it as the other man punched him in the stomach. Noah’s knees buckled, and he trembled uncontrollably, nearly sobbing as he collapsed. The guns slipped out of his hands, and he was certain he was dead.

He kept from fainting just long enough that he heard a cry of pain from one of the men. Then everything went black.

~

“No concussion. Though he does have a fever. He’ll be fine.”

“We better get him home, then,”

“What the hell was he doing out here in the first place?”

“I don’t know. But… seeing him like that, collapsing on the ground all bloody and trembling, it was… it almost felt like… maybe we were going to lose him.”

Noah blinked open his eyes, realizing he was laying in the backseat of a car with his head in Allistair’s lap while Ria looked him over. Peyton sat in the seat next to him, glaring.

“Wh...what?” Noah lifted his head. “What happened?”

“It’s okay, everything’s okay,” Allistair said. “Just go back to sleep.”   
  
“B-but I was- but- where did you-?”

“Footage of you ended up on the news,” Ria said. “I called Allistair and Peyton as soon as I saw it. What on earth were you thinking, Noah?”

Noah frowned. “I… was just… um… I thought the c-city might need me.”

Peyton scoffed. “In this state? You did more harm than good.”

“ _ Peyton _ !” Allistair’s eyes widened.

“I  _ mean _ , we had to come rescue him,” Peyton said. “Don’t we have enough trouble without having to babysit him?”

Noah winced at that statement, too shocked to hide the hurt he felt.

“ _ Peyton _ ,” Allistair repeated. “Noah, I think she’s trying to say she’s upset that you went looking for trouble when you couldn’t handle it, and she wishes you had just stayed home and gotten some rest.”

“But- I don’t  _ need  _ to rest,” Noah said, forcing himself into a sitting up position. “I’m sorry that I was useless tonight, but- you guys don’t need to  _ babysit  _ me, I can take care of myself.”

Ria got a serious look on her face. “Noah. You should know better than to go running off in the middle of the night while you’re seriously injured and have a fever. You could’ve been killed. We were all worried about you.”

“Yeah, and,” Allistair hesitated. “And we want you to come back when you’re  _ ready _ , and not any sooner, alright?”

“But I- I don’t want to stay home.” Noah struggled to breathe. “What if something happens? What if someone gets hurt because I wasn’t there to help?”

“What are the chances you’ll hurt someone by showing up all clumsy and delirious like this?” Peyton cut in. “Like- 100%? Because you hurt  _ yourself  _ this time, and I don’t want to know what could happen if this becomes a habit with you.”   
  
Noah pulled his knees to his chest.

“Come on,” Allistair said. “He’s had enough of this, Peyton, and he’ll get plenty more lecturing by the time we bring him back to Charlie and Eli.”

Noah had nearly forgotten about them. He felt sick to his stomach just imagining it. “Did they notice I was gone?”

“ _ Oh _ , yeah,” Allistair said. “You really had them worried.” he frowned, glancing at his feet. “You had  _ us  _ worried, too.”

Noah didn’t look up either. “Oh. I’m sorry, Allistair.”

Allistair just messed with Noah’s hair and smiled sadly. No one in the car spoke during the drive.


	3. Chapter 3

“Noah?” Eli ran toward the car, opening the door and just scooping Noah right out of the backseat. “Noah, thank God you’re still in one piece.” he pulled his brother into a tight embrace, which hurt a bit but felt too nice to complain.

“ _ Noah _ !” Charlie sprinted outside the house, taking her turn to hug Noah, grabbing onto his shirt and holding him like she was afraid he was going to disappear. When she looked up at him, her eyes were glazed with tears.

“I-” Noah stammered.

“No,” Charlie said. “You don’t know- you don’t know how close I thought we were to losing you. For good.” she pulled him closer. “I… please…”

_ Charlie? Stuttering and saying “please”?  _ Noah’s heart felt like it was shattering.  _ I really upset her. _

“I’m sorry,” Noah said. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“You’re grounded,” Charlie said, and Noah nearly laughed, but didn’t see any teasing in Charlie’s expression.

“Um… what?” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You’re grounded,” Charlie said. “You’re not leaving the house for the next three weeks. I don’t care if I don’t have that kind of authority over you anymore, Noah, I- I- I  _ can’t  _ lose you.”

“Okay,” Noah said, stroking Charlie’s hair reassuringly. “I won’t go anywhere.”   
  
“If you do, I- I can’t be held responsible for what I do,”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Charlie kept grabbing him, but Noah nearly fell over when he lost the support of her embrace. Eli wrapped an arm around his waist, scooping him into his arms into a bridal carry. Noah felt like complaining, but he felt too guilty for putting his siblings through this and too exhausted to speak. So he just let Eli carry him into the house.

~

The day passed. Noah was true to his word and stayed home, not realizing how much the adrenaline had shielded him from the pain that night. His new injuries, along with his old ones, were more than enough to keep him in bed. He was even charitable enough to allow his siblings to care for him.

“Your fever’s going down,” Eli said, resting a hand on Noah’s forehead. “How’s your arm feel?”

“Could be better,” Noah smiled grimly.

"It's time for another dose," Charlie said, and Noah groaned slightly.

"How come I can't just take it in pill form like... y'know, an adult?"

"This is all we had," Charlie said. "And besides, liquid medicine is more fast-acting than capsules." she poured a little into the tiny measuring cup, and held it up to Noah's lips. "C'mon."  
  
Noah reluctantly drank it, annoyed that his sister felt the need to hold it for him, but deep down understanding why she did, as he rarely had the courage to drink something that foul willingly.

"Um. Guys?" Eli re-entered the room, holding an envelope and a bouquet of seemingly hand-picked hyacinths. "Someone left this on the doorstep... The letter's addressed to Noah."

Noah's ears turned red.

"You got yourself an admirer, little brother?" Eli smirked.

"I have lots of admirers, Eli," Noah said. "Give me that." Eli tossed the letter, and Noah tore it open.

It was a homemade construction paper card, with cursive handwriting on the front that read "I'm sorry I blew you up :(". The inside featured a doodle of two stick figures holding hands, one of them with lemur ears and a tail, and the other in a cape. The stick figures were labeled "you" and "me" with a heart in between them. The bottom of the card was signed "Love, De-Intonation".

"Is this some kind of joke?" Noah furrowed his eyebrows down at the card. "It can't _really_ be him, right? I mean... why the hell would he do this?"

Eli and Charlie leaned over Noah's shoulder to read the card, and Charlie's eyes narrowed.

"Maybe he's toying with you," she said. "Threatening you with the idea that he knows where you live."

"How... _does_ he know where you live?" Eli frowned.

"Well..." Noah said. "He's probably seen me go here plenty of times, now that I think of it. Our fights don't usually end far from here. Guess he's too dumb to use it against me."

"Maybe not too _dumb_ ," Eli said, tapping the card in Noah's hand.

"What do you mean?"

"I think maybe he likes you, I dunno," Eli said. "He went to all the trouble of making this card, and sending flowers."

Noah snorted. "Yeah, whatever. Can we just go to bed soon?"

"Oh, sure," Eli said, taking the card and setting it aside. "Um... Charlie?"

Charlie frowned. "Yes?"

"How do you feel about. Leaving him alone?"

Charlie straightened her back, frowning deeper. "I'm not sure. Maybe one of us should stay here."

Noah sighed heavily and leaned back on his pillow. "You seriously think I'm going to leave after all that?"

"We trust you, it's just," Eli rested his hand on Noah's head. "I don't know, we just would be worried if we left you, that's all."

"Well..." Noah looked down at his lap. "If you guys wanted to, you could sleep here with me." he motioned to his bed.

"Wouldn't it be a pretty tight squeeze?" Charlie grimaced.

"Better than sleeping on the floor," Eli said. "Besides, it'll be fun, like when we were kids and the two of you would get nightmares and climb into bed with me."

Charlie shrugged. "I suppose."

Eli climbed onto the bed first, crossing over Noah carefully and sitting at his side. Charlie took the other side, a bit reluctantly.

Noah shifted a bit as they all settled in. "...alright, um. Goodnight, both of you."

Eli ruffled Noah's hair before turning out his reading light. "Night, kiddo. Night, little sis."

"Goodnight, Noah, Eli."

And perhaps it was the stress that had bonded them all together, but when Noah woke up, all three of the siblings were cuddled closely to one another. They wouldn't acknowledge it the day after, of course- but like hell Noah was going to be the one to break the cuddling.


End file.
